Surendra Pal Singh TT earned dubious distinction of being the first minister in the history of Indian democracy to have taken oath and resigned without taking over the charge.
Surendra Pal TT tendered his resignation to the Governor Kalraj Mishra on the day of his defeat. Ten Governor accepted his resignation just to reduce the strength of Bhajan Lal cabinet to 24 ministers including the CM.
Surendra Pal Singh TT, who was included in Bhajan Lal Sharma cabinet without even contesting election, got defeated by Congress candidate Rupinder Singh Kunnar by a margin of over 11,000 votes from Karanpur constituency.
Kunnar, riding on the sympathy wave of his father Gurmeet Singh Kunnar, whose death led to the postponement of election, drubbed the minister who was given four portfolios including all important Indira Gandhi Canal department which is crucial for this constituency.
Why Surendra Pal Singh TT lost?
Surendra Pal Singh TT, 71, is a veteran is a veteran leader. He was twice in the cabinet of Vasundhara Raje – 2003 and 2013. The sympathy wave for Gurmeet Singh Kunnar overshadowed the public charm of being in minister's constituency.
“BJP knew that Congress is in a strong position in Karanpur due to sympathy factor. That's why it made Surendra Pal TT minister before hand. But public didn't take the bait and TT had to suffer the ignominy of defeat. That too after taking oath. It's not only embarrassment for TT but also for the party,” said Sukhjinder Singh Sidhu, a political observer.
The voters of Karanpur probably didn't like the over confidence of BJP, which gave verdict even before the trial. The party thought that public would vote for minister but it boomeranged. On the other hand, Congress asked for vote as a tribute to Gurmeet Singh Kunnar, who served the constituency both as MLA and as state minister.
With this win, Congress now has 70 MLAs in the assembly and BJP remained at 115.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
